Born in the small town of Thompson, Georgia, Jackson was the daughter of a sharecropper. Jackson's mother died while she was still a child, and subsequently, she and her father moved to Newark, New Jersey. By the time she was in her mid-teens, she moved to Brooklyn, New York, and lived with an aunt. Jackson occasionally worked as a model for magazines like Jive and Sepia.
Her career is said to have begun on a dare to enter a 1964 Harlem nightclub talent contest, which she soundly won.
Though Jackson first recorded for MGM records, she soon left and began her long association with Spring records. Among her early hits was Hurts So Good which was featured in the blaxploitation film Cleopatra Jones. During the 1970s, she travelled the Southern club circuit along with other bands like The Mighty Majors. Jackson is a former Grammy Award nominee for If Loving You is Wrong (I Don't Want to Be Right) from the album Caught Up. On that album, the follow-up Still Caught Up, and others, she was backed by the renowned Muscle Shoals rhythm section. Her voice is frequently compared to Gladys Knight's.
Jackson's chart success continued into the 1980s. Two of her largest hits during this period include "Hot! Wild! Unrestricted Crazy Love" and "Love Is A Dangerous Game". Both songs reached the Top 10 of R&B chart.
Jackson wrote and starred in the touring play "Young Man, Older Woman," based on her album of the same title. Two more albums followed, 1994's Rock N' Soul and 1995's It's Over.
Jackson now runs her own record label, Weird Wreckuds. For the past several years Jackson has had her own radio show in Dallas, Texas. Broadcasting via remote from her home in Atlanta, Jackson can be found working during the afternoon drive time from 3-6 p.m. on KKDA 730 AM.
In 2000, Jackson's voice was featured in "Am I Wrong" by Etienne de Crecy, sampled from her performance in "If Loving You is Wrong". In 2001, Jackson issued her album, Not For Church Folk! on her own label, Weird Wreckuds. It includes the single, "Butt--A-Cize."
Summer
Millie Jackson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Last day of June,
And the sun was a demon,
The clouds were afraid,
One-ten in the shade,
And the pavement was steaming.
I told Billy-Ray,
I needed time for some thinking,
I was just walking by,
When I looked in her eye,
And I swore it was winking.
She was 31 and I was 17,
I knew nothing about love, she knew everything,
When I saw down beside her on the front porch swing,
And wondered what the coming night would bring.
The sun closed her eyes,
As it climbed in the sky,
And it started to swelter,
The sweat trickled down the front of her gown,
And I thought it would melt her.
She through back her hair,
Like I wasn't there,
And she sipped on a julep,
Her shoulders were bare,
And I tried not to stare,
When I looked at her two lips.
And when she looked at me,
I heard her softly say,
I know you're young,
You don't know what to do or say,
But stay with me until the sun has gone away,
And I will chase the boy in you away.
And then she smiled and we talked for a while,
And we walked for a mile to the sea,
We sat on the sand, and the boy took her hand,
But I saw the sun rise as a man.
Ten years have gone by,
Since I looked in her eye,
But the memory lingers,
I got back in my mind,
To the very first time,
And feel the touch of her fingers,
It was a hot afternoon,
Last day of June,
And the sun was a demon,
The clouds were afraid,
One-ten in the shade,
And the pavement was steaming...
The lyrics to Millie Jackson's "Summer in 2-3" tell the story of a young man's first experience with love and lust during a scorching summer day. The heat is described as an oppressive force, with the sun personified as a demon that causes the clouds to cower in fear. The singer tells us that he was walking outside, seeking time to think, when he met a woman who caught his eye. She was much older than him, at 31, and he knew nothing about love while she knew everything. Despite their age difference, the two went on a walk to the sea and spent the night together, during which the boy became a man.
The song is notable for the way it captures a moment of intense desire and passion. The imagery of the hot sun and steaming pavement reflects the singer's internal heat as he struggles to navigate his feelings. The woman, who remains nameless, is depicted as a confident and experienced lover who takes control of the situation, telling the boy to stay with her until the sun has gone away, and promising to chase the boy in him away. The lyrics suggest that this encounter was a formative experience for the singer, as he recalls it vividly ten years later.
Line by Line Meaning
It was a hot afternoon,
It was a very hot day.
Last day of June,
It was the last day of the month.
And the sun was a demon,
The sun was extremely hot.
The clouds were afraid,
The artist noticed that there were no clouds in the sky.
One-ten in the shade,
It was so hot that the temperature in the shade was 110 degrees.
And the pavement was steaming.
The ground was so hot that it started steaming.
I told Billy-Ray,
The singer talked to Billy-Ray.
In his red Chevrolet,
Billy-Ray owned a red Chevrolet car.
I needed time for some thinking,
The artist needed some time to think about something important.
I was just walking by,
The artist was just walking without a destination.
When I looked in her eye,
The singer saw a woman and made eye contact with her.
And I swore it was winking.
The artist thought that the woman was flirting with him.
She was 31 and I was 17,
There was a significant age difference between the singer and the woman.
I knew nothing about love, she knew everything,
The singer did not have much experience with love, unlike the woman.
When I saw down beside her on the front porch swing,
The singer sat down next to the woman on the porch swing.
And wondered what the coming night would bring.
The artist was curious about what would happen that night.
The sun closed her eyes,
The sun made the woman close her eyes because it was too bright.
As it climbed in the sky,
The sun rose higher in the sky.
And it started to swelter,
It became even hotter.
The sweat trickled down the front of her gown,
The woman was sweating because it was so hot.
And I thought it would melt her.
The artist thought that the woman would melt from the heat.
She threw back her hair,
The woman pushed her hair back.
Like I wasn't there,
The woman ignored the singer.
And she sipped on a julep,
The woman was drinking a julep cocktail.
Her shoulders were bare,
The woman was not wearing anything on her shoulders.
And I tried not to stare,
The singer tried to avoid looking at the woman.
When I looked at her two lips.
The singer looked at the woman's lips.
And when she looked at me,
The woman made eye contact with the artist.
I heard her softly say,
The woman spoke softly to the artist.
I know you're young,
The woman knew the singer was young.
You don't know what to do or say,
The woman thought that the singer was inexperienced.
But stay with me until the sun has gone away,
The woman asked the artist to stay with her until the sun had set.
And I will chase the boy in you away.
The woman wanted to teach the artist to act like a man.
And then she smiled and we talked for a while,
The woman smiled and talked with the artist.
And we walked for a mile to the sea,
The woman and the singer walked to the sea for one mile.
We sat on the sand, and the boy took her hand,
The artist held the woman's hand.
But I saw the sun rise as a man.
The singer became a man when the sun rose the next day.
Ten years have gone by,
Ten years have passed since that day.
Since I looked in her eye,
Since the singer made eye contact with the woman.
But the memory lingers,
The memory of that day is still with the artist.
I got back in my mind,
The artist thinks about that day often.
To the very first time,
To the first time the singer met the woman.
And feel the touch of her fingers,
The singer remembers the feeling of the woman's touch.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOBBY GOLDSBORO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Michael Benton
on All The Way Lover
Totally Wrong Lyrics.. Not Even Close.. Totally Different Song